Delta has been named the World’s Most Admired Airline by Fortune, with the company ranking No. 1 across the board in the industry for values including innovation and people management. Delta also rated higher than any other airline on the overall list of Most Admired Companies, climbing to No. 12 this year. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of the Delta team on being named on Fortune’s list of Most Admired Companies for the 10th  year in a row,” said Delta CEO Ed Bastian. “This award is a huge testament and a recognition of all their hard work, their dedication and their success. It’s no surprise that they are consistently recognized among the best.” 

In addition to Delta’s evolving brand experiences, the airline has been consistently recognized for its operational reliability – reflecting the airline’s operational complexity and the exemplary work of Delta people to achieve on-time performance while limiting the impact of disruption to its customers.  

Fortune collaborated with Korn Ferry on this survey of corporate reputation. The survey began with a universe of about 1,500 candidates: the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue, along with non-U.S. companies in the Fortune Global 500 database that have revenues of $10 billion or more. That assortment was winnowed to the highest-revenue companies in each industry, a total of 645 in 27 countries. The top-rated companies were picked from that pool of 645; the executives who voted work at the companies in that group. 

To determine the best-regarded companies in 52 industries, Korn Ferry asked executives, directors and analysts to rate enterprises in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value and quality of management and products to social responsibility and ability to attract talent. A company’s score must rank in the top half of its industry survey to be listed. 

To select the top 50 All-Stars, Korn Ferry asked 3,760 executives directors, and securities analysts who had responded to the industry surveys to select the 10 companies they admired most. They chose from a list made up of the companies that ranked in the top 25% in last year’s surveys, plus those that finished in the top 20% of their industry. Anyone could vote for any company in any industry. 

Awards & Recognition

Delta named North America’s most on-time airline, earns Cirium Platinum Award

For the second year in a row, Delta earned Cirium’s Platinum Award for global operational excellence.